She's in Good Hands!

Paul and Grandpa Houge are holding baby Karis!! Paul wasn't able to get pics sent to me YET, but he said she is so sweet, she didn't cry at all when handed over to him and just loves to interact and wants to play with him. What an answer to prayer!! I cannot believe I am not a part of this day, but it's for good reason. Now, I just cannot wait for them to come home and so motivated to feel better soon! This is silly, but 2 other families were able to blog and you can catch glimpses of Paul, Karis and Grandpa in the background:

fisherpriceless.blogspot.com

bigskybabywatch.blogspot.com

Matched with #4!!

A couple of days after we got matched with Karis, we found out we got matched with #4! This one will share our DNA...in other words, Elli, Dawson and Karis are going to big siblings already because we are pregnant! We are extremely surprised, yet excited, and maybe a bit overwhelmed. When God blesses, He pours it out! Don't worry, we have had 2 ultrasounds already and there is only one, whew!

Growing a baby is making me extremely nauseous, so traveling to China and India is not an option for me. Paul and his dad left for China last Wednesday while my mom, Elli and I are holding down the fort (actually my mom is taking care of Elli and I...moms are awesome).

Gotcha Day is "tomorrow", which is in a couple of hours for Nanning, China!! Paul and Grandpa will be holding Karis SOON! I will post any pics I get! Please pray that God will prepare Karis' heart for this huge transition.

Elli's plans

Today Elli said "play baby Karis: babies, books, tea parties & shoes". So that's Elli's plan...Baby Karis will be influenced in all girl play:)

Introducing Karis Jia Houge!

I get teary-eyed as I look at these pics...I cannot believe this little girl is our daughter. February 3 (the first day of the Chinese New Year) we got matched and we received new pics today! We also got clearance for Dawson today, too! We will travel to China before India, though.

Elli's New Years Resolution...A Big Girl Bed

New Years Day Elli wanted to sleep in a big girl bed! We were a little unprepared, but went with it and she has been a rock star! She just looks tiny in her full size bed. This bed was her great grandparents' wedding present. Then I slept in it, and now Elliana.

The last picture is of Elli and Daddy sharing coffee in the morning with her dollies. Paul and her love drinking "coffee" in the morning in bed.

Snow Snow Snow

San Antonio got their first big snow storm...hehehe! Did I mention in the last post that Minnesota has lots of snow, record breaking amount of snow...seriously! And we absolutely loved it! Elli thought it was a treat, too! Paul built a snow fort with cousins that had a "hot tub" and Elli followed around her big cousins. It's fun how we really appreciate snow (with sunshine) when we live down south...though coming home to 70 degrees was welcomed, too:)

A Cozy Minnesota Christmas

We were blessed to get to spend Christmas weekend in Minnesota with the Houges. Christmas Eve started with the gals getting a little outing while the guys took the kiddos to a sledding hill at St. Olaf. The kids (and adults) flew down the hill and really had a ball. We went to church, then had a delicious Christmas meal and Elli got to eat with her older cousins in the basement. She was so thrilled. Her older cousins took her in and like always, just played and played with her. Most pics of the weekend she is looking at her cousins, not the camera! We tried to put Elli to sleep after the kids' gift opening and that didn't work out....hours later we looked at the monitor and Elli was taking her clothes off, throwing them over the side of the crib...sleep was something she lacked :) I cracked up at the white elephant gift exchange...gifts ranged from laundry detergent to door handles to a coveted wood hand-made pen. Christmas was so fun as Sara and Nate's family slept over and we all enjoyed a lazy morning. Then the crew headed to Tim's house to see their new cool addition to the house. Then we drove to John and Sue's new home and loved our evening and woke up to Sue's famous chocolate pudding breakfast (it was a big hit in Elli's book). Then before we left, we got to see Mark and Anne's fam at their house! Whew! It was a fabulous weekend with an amazing family! I have to note, that this was Elli's first plane ride as an official passenger with her own seat and she did great...one time I looked over and her and Paul were dancing like crazy with airplane cookies in hand!! Later, she wanted a photo shoot of dolly and her...she cracks us up!